Now that you have the basics down, it’s time to move on to explaining the various couponing strategies that we employ to get the vast majority of our groceries and household items for free or nearly free. Today I will be discussing stacking coupons.
STACKING: Using a store coupon with a manufacturer’s coupon on one item
Remember, you can only use one manufacturer’s coupon on each item, but you can use a manufacturer’s coupon with a store coupon. In fact, at Safeway, you can use multiple store coupons on each item! Here’s an example of how we use stacking to our advantage at Fred Meyer:
Ricola Cough Drops (19-24 pk) on sale $.99 with weekly in ad coupon
Buy 2
Use $1/2 coupon from 1/16 SS insert
$.49 each after coupons when you buy 2
The “weekly ad coupon” is a Fred Meyer store coupon. Using both the FM store coupon and the $1/2 manufacturer’s coupon brings each bag of cough drops down to $.49.
Here’s an example of how you can use multiple store coupons and a manufacturer’s coupon on one item at Safeway:
Coffee Mate Creamer on sale $1.99 with weekly ad coupon
Use $1/1 printable coupon
Use Safeway double (-$.50)
$.49 after coupon & double
The “weekly ad coupon” and the “Safeway double” are both store coupons.
Places to find store coupons for each of the stores in the Pacific Northwest:
Safeway
- weekly ads (released on Tuesdays in Oregon & Wednesdays in Washington)
- Sunday supplemental ads
- coupon booklets found in the store (released periodically)
- Catalina machine
Albertsons
- weekly ads (released on Tuesdays in Oregon & Wednesdays in Washington)
- Sunday supplemental ads
- coupon booklets found in the store (released periodically)
- Catalina machine
Fred Meyer
- weekly ads (released on Sundays)
- daily paper supplemental ads (released periodically)
- Catalina machine
- gold hangtag coupons placed next to the product
- coupon exchange basket in the front of the grocery front door
- Extra Savigns Booklet (available at the grocery front door or customer service desk)
Walgreens
- weekly ads (released on Sundays; ad coupons are “clipless” in Portland and just require the swipe of your Rewards Card)
- monthly coupon booklets (IVC — Instant Value Coupons) found at the front of the store
- Walgreens.com (the one’s marked “Walgreens” in green are store coupons)
- Diabetes & You booklet available in the pharmacy area
Rite Aid
- weekly ads (released on Sundays)
- coupon booklets found in the store (released periodically)
- Video Values coupons (watch an advertisement video and print a Rite Aid coupon)
- tearpads frequently found in the cosmetics display area
- peelies found on Rite Aid brand products
Target
- weekly ads (released on Sundays)
- Target.com
- Sunday manufacturer’s coupon inserts
- Catalina machine
Bi-Mart
- Membership booklet (mailed to members)
Coming Tuesday: Know the coupon strategies {DOUBLE COUPONS}
The Ultimate Guide to Couponing in the Northwest, previous posts:
- Lesson 1: Know how to shop
- Lesson 2: Know where to find coupons
- Lesson 3: Know your coupon
- Lesson 4: Know your coupon lingo
- Lesson 5: Know how to read a deal post
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Can you stack the gold hanging coupons at Fred Meyer with a mfg coupon? One of the gold hanging tags I saw the other day said mfg coupon at the top (even though it was a gold coupon that was likely printed in store). I asked one store worker if they were treated as mfr or store coupons and he said mfr (implying you can’t stack). Did he have it wrong or do they print both store and mfg coupons on those gold hanging tags?
Cheers,
It depends on if it states “manufacturer’s coupon” or “store coupon.” I’ve noticed both in the store.
Can you stack a manuf BOGO coupon on top of another manuf coupon (say 1/1 coupon)?
You can do this, but it is not considered “stacking” because you are using the BOGO coupon on the item you are getting for free and the $1/1 coupon on the item you are paying for.
Thank you for clarifying!
Do you generally buy Sunday papers and are the weekly ads the ones that come free to your house every Tuesday here in Oregon or are they in the newspaper as well?
What About the online rewards coupons you can add to your rewards card, I think they are manufacturers coupons but I’ve also used a paper manufact coupon and received both off the same product. Is this type of stacking always allowed?
Thank you!
I’ve been couponing like this for a while, along with strategic shopping, stock piling, printing, and cutting coupons for my binder, and scouring the blogs for the best deals
It’s become my favorite thing! It’s fun to get peoples amazed reaction as they watch me go through the checkout and see how much I get for a surprisingly small amount. I can absolutely attest to the fact that a person can get free groceries, and even sometimes get paid for items, if you’re willing to put the time into it. It’s not hard, but it takes some time and energy, but it’s fully worth it. Thanks for your easy instructions and info. I’m going to direct my friends and fam to your website so they can read through it and hopefully get on the coupon train!
I live in Vancouver, WA and this states that the ads for Safeway and Alberson’s come out on Wednesdays in Washington, but this is not right,at least not for Vancouver, they come out in the Tuesday Columbian…just an FYI!
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